Path 2

Path 2

Emanuel & the Fear

September 1, 2009

Remember when indie rock was about stripping down and freaking out? The kids in this genial, 11-piece Brooklyn outfit don’t: They found their voices in the age of Sufjan and Arcade Fire and (might as well own up to it) the Polyphonic Spree. In their minds, no emotion is too small to warrant the full orchestral-pop treatment. Fortunately, they’ve got tunes, which always helps the sugar go down.

Before Roe, terminating a pregnancy meant confronting a nightmare of quacks and butchers, knitting needles and wire coat hangers. The exceptions were people like Dr. X, “the stars of the underground abortion circuit.”